Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1887-04-22
PERSIAN JUSTICE,
How the shah's Son Convicted the MUIR
derers of an Englishman.

marks the place where the body of Ser
geant Collins was found after his muir
der.
Sergeant Collins was an inspector of
the telegraph line, man of great per-
sonal bravery. Accompanied by his
wife. two servants and two muleteers,
he started on his inspection duty. Col
Inns was hardly convalescent from fe-
yer attack when he started, and he had
no choice in travelling but to lie on "a
mattress flung on loaded mule.
AT early dawn one day a muleteer
suddenly cried: ''Sahib, they have
blocked the road" and, looking ahead,
the sergeant saw some men in front
who were covering him with their guns.
At the same moment these men or
dered him to dismount. Now, the SER
geant was the best shot in Persia. "Be
OFF, he shouted, firing his revolver
twice. The robbers rushed in, firing as
they came, and Collins was hit in two
places, death being instantaneous.
After beating the lifeless body with
their iron-headed sticks, the robbers
blindfolded and carried off the wife and
two servants, OBTAINING them in a dell
until after midnight.
At the persistent instiGaton of the
English Minister at Teheren the Per-
sian authorities arrested the three prin-
cipal robbers. Another of them conf
united suicide to avoid capture; another
had died from gunshot wound, APP
parently inflicted by Collins. But the
Persian authorities, though they had
got the criminals in Jail, seemed very
10th to bring them to Justice But at
length Mira Hassan Ali Khan, c. S.
|, our agent at Shiraz, succeeded in
goading the Prince Governor, II. r. II.
Zil-es-Sultan, into trying the prisoners
The proceedings were very curious
There was no doubt of the guilt of the
men, but there were no witnesses of the
murder. The sergeant was dead; his
wife and his two servants had been
frightened out of their wits, and the
muleteer declared that he could remem.
Der nothing. The Zil-es-Sultan, finding
that the English Minister would not
remain satisfied, ordered the robbers to
be brought before Him. The Prince
Governor himself embodied the law.
Half a dozen courtiers leaned against
the wall, their arms respectfully crossed
upon their breasts. Seated on silk
mattress in the corner of the room, his
back supported by gold-embroidered
cushions, the young Prince twiddled
his mustache, or played with the jewell
ed hilt of his saber, or toyed with the
buckle of priceless brilliants which
formed the central ornament of his plain
| leather waist belt.
The three men were dressed as peas
ants usually are, in tall felt caps and
long felt coats. When they were hustled
into the hall of audience they were still
heavily ironed, for these men are often
desperate criminals, and would ;>)t hes
itate for a moment to murder their Jail
ers if they thought they would thereby
secure chance of escape. On enter
ing the royal presence they bow almost
to the ground. "Salaam!' they shout
in kind of chorus; your villager or
tradesman never speaks-he always
shouts. "How do you like PRISON."
says the Prince, nodding to them with
smile In reply the bandits assert
their innocence, calling at every sem
tence upon Heaven and the Prophet
care we not harmless tradesmen, we
who live in your Royal Highness'
shadow May we be your sacrifce?"
The Prince still smiles blandly. "Ah,
my friends" says he, II, too, am
Mussulman. We are all Mussulmans
here; and-and, in fact-an unbeliever
more or less doesn't much matter. You
have truly done good deed. | shall
not really punish you, but reward you
That you killed the Feringhi there is,
of course, no doubt; and so | must pun
ish you nominally. What propose to
do is to cut off a joint of one finger of
each of you. But what is thatp Moth
ing. Your dresses of honor are ready.
You will put them on and will be in
stantly liberated. And now, my chill
dren, says the smiling Prince, ''tell
me all about it. How did you manage
it, eh?"
The astonished prisoners received
this speech with burst of JOY. All
shouting at once they fastened to give
the Prince full particulars. The Eu-
ropean fired twice from one pistol
may we be your sacritice!-and then
we all fired together, rushing in on
him. He was but European-may
your shadow never be less We trust
in the clemency of your Royal High
ness! May we be your sacrificer'
The smile faded from the face of the
young Prince-Governor. his likeness to
the Shah, his father. becoming very
apparent as his countenance darkened
into ferocity. He had got at the truth,
and without more ado nodded with APP
propriate significance to his chief of
police, the Farrashbashi, burly, black
bearded man who stood behind the
criminals. The prisoners were re-